Nigerian nationalism is commonly presented as a twentieth-century phenomenon that emerged in response to British colonial rule and the rise of Western-educated elites. This interpretation, while not incorrect, is incomplete. A growing body of historical scholarship demonstrates that the political consciousness which later developed into Nigerian nationalism was shaped by events and responses that began in the nineteenth century.
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This perspective is most clearly associated with historian J. F. Ade Ajayi, who argued that nationalism should be understood as a historical process rather than a sudden ideological invention. Ajayi challenged interpretations that confined nationalism strictly to modern political parties or constitutional agitation, insisting instead that earlier responses to foreign intrusion and economic change formed an essential foundation.
Earlier scholarship, notably James S. Coleman’s Nigeria: Background to Nationalism (1958), distinguished between “traditional” resistance to European penetration and “modern” nationalism aimed at independence. While Ajayi accepted this analytical distinction, he argued that it obscured important continuities in political values, leadership, and collective action.
Understanding these nineteenth-century developments is essential to appreciating Nigerian nationalism as an evolving political tradition rather than a borrowed European ideology.
Political Resistance and Indigenous Authority
Throughout the nineteenth century, many Nigerian societies resisted European commercial and political encroachment. These responses were shaped by established political systems and leadership structures rather than by modern nationalist ideology.
In the Niger Delta, King Jaja of Opobo sought to control trade routes and regulate commerce with European firms. His opposition to British interference was motivated by the defence of Opobo’s economic autonomy and political authority. While Jaja did not seek the creation of a nation-state, his actions represented a rejection of foreign domination and the subordination of indigenous power.
Similarly, Nana Olomu of Itsekiri resisted British commercial expansion and treaty enforcement that threatened local authority. In the north, resistance to British conquest culminated in the defence of the Sokoto Caliphate, where established political institutions confronted imperial military power at the turn of the century.
These movements were not nationalist in the modern sense. Their primary aim was the preservation of existing political orders. However, they demonstrated a sustained commitment to autonomy, legitimacy, and control over political space.
Ajayi emphasised that such resistance should be understood as historically significant without being mislabelled. The absence of a national vision of “Nigeria” does not diminish its importance in the longer trajectory of political consciousness.
Economic Transformation and Political Awareness
Economic change played a decisive role in shaping political responses during the nineteenth century. The decline of the Atlantic slave trade and the rise of so-called “legitimate commerce” altered production, trade relationships, and power structures across the region.
Palm oil, kernels, and other exports integrated Nigerian economies into global markets. Indigenous traders initially prospered, but increasing European commercial dominance produced conflict. African middlemen resisted price manipulation, monopoly practices, and exclusion from trade networks.
These economic struggles were not purely commercial disputes. They reflected broader concerns about autonomy, fairness, and control over resources. Ajayi and other historians have identified these conflicts as early expressions of political awareness shaped by material conditions rather than ideology alone.
Economic engagement with Europe thus produced both opportunity and resistance, creating a context in which political claims became increasingly articulated.
Social Change and the Emergence of New Elites
The nineteenth century also witnessed the rise of new social groups whose influence became critical in later nationalist development. Missionary activity expanded Western education, literacy, and Christian institutions, particularly in coastal and urban areas.
Returnee ex-slaves from Sierra Leone (the Saro) and Afro-Brazilian communities (the Amaro) occupied a distinctive social position. Educated, multilingual, and economically active, they served as clerks, teachers, traders, and missionaries. Their exposure to global ideas of rights and governance shaped a new form of political engagement.
Importantly, these elites did not abandon African identity. Rather, they sought recognition, equality, and participation within existing political structures. Their activities in Lagos and other urban centres encouraged debate, petitioning, and public discussion.
By the late nineteenth century, newspapers, churches, and civic associations had created spaces for political expression that later nationalists would expand.
Colonial Rule and Historical Continuity
British colonial expansion in the late nineteenth century unified diverse territories under a single administrative framework. Through treaties, conquest, and indirect rule, colonial authority reshaped political life across the region.
Ajayi argued that colonialism did not create Nigerian nationalism from nothing. Instead, it accelerated and redirected existing political traditions. The imposition of shared governance structures, legal systems, and administrative boundaries created new conditions in which political claims could be articulated collectively.
This continuity does not imply identical goals across periods. Nineteenth-century actors sought preservation; twentieth-century nationalists sought transformation. What persisted was a commitment to political agency and resistance to subordination.
Legacy and Historical Significance
Recognising the nineteenth-century origins of Nigerian nationalism challenges simplistic narratives that portray nationalism as a colonial imitation. It affirms Nigerian agency and situates independence within a long historical process.
This interpretation also informs contemporary debates about federalism, regional autonomy, and political legitimacy. Many of these issues have roots in precolonial and nineteenth-century experiences rather than colonial policy alone.
By tracing nationalism beyond the colonial period, historians provide a more accurate and nuanced understanding of Nigeria’s political development.
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Author’s Note
This article presents Nigerian nationalism as a historical process shaped by nineteenth-century resistance, economic change, and social transformation. Drawing primarily on the work of J. F. Ade Ajayi and related scholarship, it avoids attributing modern nationalist ideology to precolonial actors while recognising their importance in shaping political consciousness. Understanding these foundations allows Nigerian independence to be seen not as an abrupt rupture, but as the culmination of long-standing historical forces.
References
Ajayi, J. F. Ade. Christian Missions in Nigeria, 1841–1891. Longman, 1965.
Ajayi, J. F. Ade. “The Continuity of African Institutions under Colonialism.” TARIKH, Vol. 2, No. 1.
Coleman, James S. Nigeria: Background to Nationalism. University of California Press, 1958.
